Calling higher minimum wages “a disaster for small business owners,” a GOP state lawmaker Tuesday introduced a bill to strike down local laws like Seattle’s $15-per-hour measure.

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In a statement, the advocacy organization Working Washington described lawmakers like Baumgartner as “pro-poverty wage extremists.”

Seattle is evidence that higher wages are good for the economy, “because more people with more money means more customers for more businesses,” said Sage Wilson, communications director for Working Washington.

In a show of how far the minimum-wage movement has advanced, the Washington Restaurant Association said in November that it now actively supports raising the state’s minimum wage.

About Working Washington: Our mission is to build a powerful workers’ movement that can not only dramatically improve wages and working conditions, but can also change the local and national conversation about wealth, inequality, and the value of work. More info…

Our mission is to build a powerful workers’ movement that can not only dramatically improve wages and working conditions, but can also change the local and national conversation about wealth, inequality, and the value of work.

Working Washington fast food strikers sparked the fight that won Seattle's landmark $15 minimum wage. We drove Amazon to sever ties with right-wing lobby group ALEC and improve conditions in their sweatshop warehouses. And we helped lead the winning campaign in SeaTac for a $15 living wage.